1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control device for a television or video cassette recorder (VCR) which operates on rechargeable batteries, and particularly to a remote control device with a built-in charging device for recharging the batteries.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtually all television receivers, video cassette recorders and digital video disc (DVD) players are now manufactured with the capacity to operate by remote control. The remote control device may be a proprietary device manufactured by the maker of the television, VCR or DVD, or it may be a universal remote control designed to operate with more than one brand name appliance. The remote control is usually designed to transmit a modulated infrared signal which is received by the appliance. The transmitter is supplied with electrical power by one or more batteries. In order to avoid the expense of buying new batteries, the distributor or the consumer may use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable dry cell batteries.
Eventually the rechargeable battery runs down and requires recharging. Battery powered electrical devices may be designed in several different ways. The battery powered device may have only a battery compartment, without any provision built into the device for recharging the batteries. In this event, the user must remove the rechargeable batteries from the device and insert the batteries into a general purpose battery charger purchased separately from the device. A charger of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,140, issued Nov. 9, 1999 to Toya et al.
The battery powered electrical device may have a removable battery pack which has circuitry incorporated into the battery pack for recharging the batteries. Examples of this approach are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,917, issued Mar. 4, 1980 to Brown et al (battery pack with retractable prongs for plugging into wall outlet); U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,814, issued Jun. 3, 1997 to Afzal et al. (battery module which attaches to charger having retractable prongs for attachment to device or wall receptacle); U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,810, issued Nov. 11, 1997 to T. Yasui (battery charger which fits into console which has mechanism for moving charging electrodes away from battery pack electrodes when charging is complete); U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,680, issued Mar. 21, 2000 to Toya et al. (battery pack with secondary coil for inductive coupling to primary coil in charger); PCT No. WO 95/20828, published Aug. 3, 1995 (battery charger for portable telephone) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,721, issued Jun. 16, 1992 to Okada et al. (battery pack may be placed in console charger, or charger may be plugged into device for AC power source).
Often a wall transformer or the entire charging unit plugs into a wall receptacle and is supplied with a pin that plugs into a jack in the battery pack to provide an appropriate current for recharging the device. Examples of this variation are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,941, issued Oct. 3, 2000 to J. M. Van Ryzin (remote control with graphical user interface) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,147, issued Jul. 13, 1999 to N. Martensson (charger itself is plugged into wall receptacle and pin is attached to cord mounted on retractable reel).
In a third approach, the battery powered electrical device may be provided with a desk console or wall mounted charging unit that the device may be inserted into. In this case the housing of the device often will have built-in terminals which are connected to the rechargeable batteries, or terminals on the battery holder. An example of this type of device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,914, issued Jul. 7, 1970 to Fujimaki et al (carry case that device fits into for charging). In another variation, the console may be connected to a vehicle""s automotive battery. This setup is frequently used to permit a portable radio to be used as a mobile radio, or to recharge the radio""s batteries. Examples of this approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,318, issued to Eichler et al. on May 23, 1978, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,861, issued Jun. 16, 1987 to Dubovsky et al.
In a fourth approach, the battery powered electrical device may have the charger circuitry built into the device. In this case, the charger circuitry may be powered through a zip cord with a wall outlet plug at the end of the cord, or the device may have a retractable wall outlet plug built into the device housing.
In a fifth approach, the battery powered electrical device may be recharged using a solar powered battery recharger which may either be built into the device housing, or which is a desk console unit which attaches to the device through a cord terminating in an appropriate plug.
Other battery charging devices are shown in U.S. Des. Pat. No. 338,673, issued Aug. 24, 1993 to D. Lewis (ornamental design for combine remote control and recharger); U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,694, issued Apr. 23, 1996 to O. K. Nilssen (automotive battery with built-in battery inverter/charging circuit for charging other batteries); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,475, issued Oct. 26, 1999 to P. M. Combaluzier (battery pack for cellular telephone with microcontroller and related circuitry for enabling keypad to be used as remote control).
The Coleman Company, Inc. of Wichita Kans. markets a rechargeable flashlight, Model No. 5387D700. The flashlight housing is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. Des. 404,840, issued Jan. 26, 1999 to Van Deursen et al. Although not shown in the ""840 patent, the base of the housing includes a retractable wall plug so that the flashlight may be plugged into a wall outlet to recharge the flashlight""s two AA NiCad batteries. The charging circuit for the flashlight is described below.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a rechargeable remote control solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The rechargeable remote control is a remote control device for a television, VCR, or the like with a built in battery charger for recharging the batteries of the remote control. The remote control is powered by rechargeable batteries, preferably nickel cadmium batteries. A battery charger circuit is mounted on a printed circuit board within the remote control housing and is electrically connected to the battery holder. The charger circuit receives power from the a.c. power mains through a retractable wall plug built into the remote control housing. The retractable wall plug is mounted on a rotor with a cam which operates a switch disconnecting the batteries from the remote control circuitry while the batteries are recharging. A first LED indicates the unit is ready for charging, and, optionally, a second LED indicates that the batteries are receiving a recharging current.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a remote control unit with a built-in battery charger circuit.
It is another object of the invention to provide a remote control unit with a built-in battery charger which requires no external wiring or cables for connection to a power source.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a remote control unit with a retractable wall plug for connecting a built-in battery charging circuit to the a.c. power mains which includes an indicator light to indicate that the remote control circuitry has been disconnected from the battery power supply when the wall plug is extended to prevent accidental damage to the remote control unit circuitry.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a remote control unit with a built-in battery charger having an indicator light which indicates when the batteries are receiving a charging current.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.